I again want to speak about the importance of having a meaningful, open, and honest discussion when talking about changing the definition of marriage. A second thing of importance is that of the conflicting ideology among homosexuals themselves of assimilation and sexual liberation. Thus, before you shoot the messager Larry, it those who are asking society to legally sanction, police, and pay for the consequences of their behavior that is the source of this information. This discussion is being had because those who are the answer to the questions above have raised the issue of changing the definition of marriage. Yet, is it a meaningful, open, and honest discussion?

It is homosexuals who are asking society to legally sanction, police, and pay for the consequences of their behavior. Same-sex marriage, unsafe sexual behavior in gay sex clubs and bathhouses and increasing medical cost associated with the rising cases of STDs and HIV/AIDS among male homosexuals answers the question of how homosexuals are asking society to legally sanction, police, and pay for the consequences of their behavior.

How are homosexuals asking society to legally sanction their behavior? Homosexuals by asking to change the definition of marriage to allow same-sex couples to marry will continue to further normalize and legitimize homosexual behavior. This change in the definition of marriage is only one way that homosexuals are attempting to assimilate homosexual behavior in our society. But not all homosexuals advocate for assimilating homosexual behavior into society. Rather they advocate for sexual liberation.

How are homosexuals asking society to police their behavior? An example is the issue of HIV/AIDS testing in gay sex clubs and bathhouses in Los Angeles County. This issue arose over two years ago and has not yet been resolved.

A leading U.S. AIDS health service provider on Monday said hundreds of patrons of gay sex clubs and bathhouses have been exposed to HIV because Los Angeles County officials failed to regulate the venues. (AIDS group urges in LA bathhouses, Rueters Health, 2004-05-04)

He added that nearly 2 years has elapsed since a study documenting an 11% incidence of HIV infections among men who tested at Los Angeles bathhouses, compared to 5% of men who were tested in a public clinic or community-based testing center. (AIDS group urges in LA bathhouses, Rueters Health, 2004-05-04)

The fact that a debate over whether Los Angeles County, Calif., should require licensing of gay bathhouses and sex clubs "still goes on in the third decade of the HIV epidemic is unbelievable," a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 7/5) (http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=24574Opinion | Los Angeles County, Calif., Should License Gay Bathhouses, Sex Clubs, Los Angeles Times Editorial Says)

How are homosexuals asking society to pay for the consequence of their behavior? It is through the growing medial costs by the increasing numbers of STDs and HIV/AIDS cases among homosexual men.

The local numbers reflect a national resurgence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among gay men. (Response to rising HIV divides gay community. Seattle Times, January 6, 2004)

Debate over the community’s expectations on sexual behavior is exposing a cultural divide among gay men, sparking a separate discussion within the gay community on its values and ethics. One side says it is unfair to condemn gay men who engage in risky sex without considering the underlying causes of the behavior. The other side wants the coddling of those whose behavior is fueling the epidemic to stop. (Response to rising HIV divides gay community. Seattle Times, January 6, 2004)

Health officials and AIDS activists nationwide are alarmed at the increasing correlation between new HIV diagnoses and methamphetamine use among gay men. The drug’s ability to heighten arousal and ease inhibitions is proving deadly combination - leading to sexual behavior that increases the chances of infection with HIV and syphilis. (Gays’ Rising Meth Use Tied to New HIV Cases. Latimes.com (Los Angeles Times online) January 19, 2005)

One recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study based on San Francisco data showed that use of both meth and Viagra was connected to a marked increase in unsafe sex. (Gays’ Rising Meth Use Tied to New HIV CasesLatimes.com (Los Angeles Times online) January 19, 2005)

More than half of us are ignoring everything we know about sexual safety and health and refusing to protect ourselves. It should come as no surprise that the CDC just announced that new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men across the country increased for the third consecutive year. (Is the badge of the sexual outlaw killing us? Advocate.com commentary October 13, 2003)

Syphilis is on the rise in the United States for the first time in more than a decade, largely because of outbreaks among gay and bisexual men in several U.S. cites, the government reported on Thursday. (Syphilis rate increase linked to gay, bisexual men. Advocate.com 11/02/02-11/04/02)

New syphilis cases have risen in Massachusetts from 97 in 1999 to 197 in 2002, with more than 60% of the infections reported among gay and bisexual men. About half of all the men who sex with men diagnosed with new syphilis infections also are coinfected with HIV. (Massachusetts launches syphilis prevention campaign for gay men. Advocate.com May 6, 2003.)